Sustainable vs organic
Organic — which used to mean largely local, small and family-owned operations — can now mean food grown half the country away, or abroad, and by large, corporate-owned farms that use highly mechanized methods and distribute through centralized, large transportation systems.
It is now possible to buy organic food from Argentina and Chile, but “I’m sorry, that’s not sustainable,” says Dave Henson, director of the Occidental Art and Ecology Center in Sonoma County.
“We have to consider the whole food stream, from genetic inputs to seed, to the quality of labor, to harvest and shipping and packaging and the waste stream,” says Henson. “Food miles is another indicator.”
“Food miles” are foremost in Jessica Prentice’s thoughts as she prepares for the August challenge of eating within the foodshed that she and the Locavores have drawn. We spent an afternoon with Prentice as she shopped and cooked dinner. Between now and August, she and the other Locavores are going through their pantries, researching and refining the boundaries of their personal foodsheds.
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Choosing organic vs. local
You may find yourself confronted with the choice of organic or local. How do the two fit in each other? Here are the Locavores’ guidelines:
— Whenever possible, buy, eat and cook local — i.e. within the foodshed.
— If not locally produced, then organic. This choice generally protects the environment and your body from chemicals and hormones.
— If not organic, then family farm. If it comes down to Kraft versus Cabot (a dairy co-op in Vermont), choose Cabot.
— If not family farm, then local business. Coffee and wheat products may be difficult. At least support a local coffee-roasting house and local bakery.
— If not a local business, then go for terroir. Purchase foods that express the region they are grown in and support the local agriculture. If you’re buying Brie, by it from Brie, France; if Parmesan cheese, from Parma, Italy.
— O.W.
Foodshed sources and alternatives
If you want to practice foodshed eating, but some of the staples of your diet just don’t fit, what can you do?
First, research an ingredient to find out where it comes from, then research a local source.
After that, the choices basically boil down to three — give up the ingredient; ignore the foodshed philosophy for this food and keep eating it; or seek some middle ground using creative strategies such as the following:
Coffee: Buy beans that are roasted locally and/or by fair trade producers.
Tea: Drink herbal teas from homegrown or locally grown fresh herbs, such as lemon verbena, peppermint, lemongrass
Wheat breads and pastries: Buy only locally baked breads and pastries, or bake your own with locally milled flour.
Pasta: Buy from small local producers, or use pasta made from locally grown grains.
Chocolate: Buy chocolate that’s made locally by environmentally conscious producers.
Ketchup (and soy sauce, fish sauce and other condiments): Buy products from local manufacturers.
Salt: There is local salt, but you may not like its taste, or find it as pollutant-free as you’d like, so choose salt that is as free of additives as possible.
Black pepper (and other exotic spices): Substitute chile pepper or California red peppercorns.
Sugar: Use locally harvested honey instead.
Vanilla: Substitute other aromatics in baking, such as lavender or rose petals.
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